Tag: world ocean day

Stunning new film uses art and music to champion World Oceans Day

Dive in.

Just in time for World Oceans Day on June 7, artist/conservationist Joshua Sam Miller is showing his new 25-minute film “Sounds of the Ocean.” To raise awareness about ocean issues, Miller has offered planetariums around the world a one-week free license to show his film during June. Some of the planetariums taking him up on his offer include Juneau, Alaska’s Marie Drake Planetarium and Uruguay’s Planetario de Montevideo. Check out this list of all the planetariums showing Miller’s film, and learn more about it below.

“Sounds of the Ocean” combines original music, whale and dolphin sounds, art, and ocean imagery to take viewers on an underwater journey. The filmmakers want to demonstrate that oceans are worth protecting.

A movie poster for "Sounds of the Ocean" with white text for the film's title overlayed on an image of whales in the ocean.
Image courtesy of Embodied Sounds

“Believing in the power of peaceful activism, the project’s intention is to inspire ocean action to protect life underwater, while also helping to reduce stress in our modern society,” an official statement about the film explains.

Miller, the film’s director, grew up surfing and scuba diving. He founded Embodied Sounds, which offers several different types of immersive experiences. These experiences include live music shows, multimedia performances featuring dance, art, and marine life sounds, and, trippiest of all, an underwater music experience offered in heated pools at some spas. Miller’s work has been featured everywhere, from an installation at Burning Man to a presentation during the 26th United Nations Climate Conference.

A black background around a circular frame showing two whales in the ocean.
Image courtesy of Embodied Sounds

U.N. World Oceans Day traces its history back to 1992, when Oceans Day was first declared at the Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations officially designated World Oceans Day in 2008. It’s grown since and is usually celebrated around the world on June 8. However, this year, the date is June 7. This 2024 theme is “Awaken New Depths.”

A black background around a circular frame showing a whale's tale underwater.
Image courtesy of Embodied Sounds

As it says in the 2024 World Oceans Day trailer, “As humans, we depend on the ocean for survival. But compared to what it gives us, we invest little in return.” Instead of continuing to make shallow, short-sighted decisions, World Oceans Day urges humans to conserve the ocean before it’s too late. On June 7, you can join virtually from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT as global policymakers, scientists, activists, and artists discuss how humans can better protect oceans. And look for Sounds of the Ocean coming to a planetarium near you.

Marvel at these new underwater sculptures celebrating World Ocean Day

Happy World Ocean Day!

World Ocean Day is June 8, and the coastal city of Townsville in Northeastern Queensland, Australia, is doing something special to celebrate. The Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) will be opening its new Ocean Sentinel snorkel trail.

The MOUA aims to inspire reef conservation by providing underwater experiences that engage people in cultural stories of the land and sea. The new snorkel trail consists of eight sculptures. These hybrids of human and natural marine forms represent marine conservationists — the ocean sentinels in the installation’s title. Most of the sentinels depicted are Australian.

“The stylised marine forms that surround and envelop them represent their particular field of study and expertise,” sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor explained in a statement. “The artworks aim to create an educational and informative introduction to Great Barrier Reef, celebrating its rich history and its connection to some of the world’s leading marine science institutions and its strong links to indigenous cultures and traditions.” 

Two people in orange hi-vis gear moving a large sculpture.
Workers move one of the sentinels. / Photo courtesy of MOUA

The artist is also an environmentalist and professional underwater photographer. Most of his work explores submerged and tidal marine environments.

deCaires Taylor sculpted the sentinels from a new high-grade, low-carbon concrete reinforced with marine stainless steel. Each sculpture is about 7 feet tall and weighs up to 2.8 tonnes. A low center of gravity helps each piece resist the ocean’s pull. The submerged sculptures will be set on barren stretches of the Great Barrier Reef off Townsville. deCaires Taylor hopes that, over time, marine life such as corals and sponges will colonize the artworks. 

“Like the Great Barrier Reef itself, they will become a living and evolving part of the ecosystem, emphasising both its fragility and its endurance.”

The new Ocean Sentinel installation is MOUA’s third art project installation around Townsville. Ocean Siren, the first MOUA project, is not underwater but stands alongside Townsville’s Strand Jetty. The sculpture changes color in response to water temperature variations. Divers and snorkelers can also visit deCaires Taylor’s Coral Greenhouse, about a two-hour boat ride off the coast from Townsville.

A man standing behind and looking up at a large human/marine sculpture.
deCaires Taylor stands beside one of his sentinels. / Photo courtesy of MOUA